ZAIBAKTIAN

2009 - An amazing year in music for Zaibaktian

I'm never one to indulge in self-glory but i believed that 2009 was a year where all that i had set out to do....worked out for...planned for....believed....had finally came to some fruition......simply put, it had been an amazing year in my brief music career.

So here's me being a journalist for a day, writing a summary of what happened in 2009. To all my beautifuls & handsomes, hope you enjoy reading :)

Zaibaktian's "Lelaki Baru" was already a No. 1 hit song on RIA 89.7FM on the way to 2009. Composed & written by Yazri Merah, it became the Top 10 songs of 2008 on RIA 89.7FM. "Lelaki Baru" stayed for 25 weeks on the charts till March 2009 and had achieved its highest position at No. 1 for 3 weeks. The popularity of the song propelled Zaibaktian to new heights and he garnered nominations at 2009's Anugerah Planet Muzik as "Singapore's Most Popular Artiste" and "Singapore's Most Popular Song". In 2010, it was also selected as the Top 100 songs on RIA 89.7FM on the radio station's 20th Anniversary.

"Ejen Cinta" was Zaibaktian's 2nd single in 2009. The single, originally written for Mediacorp Suria's love drama comedy of the same name, was Zaibaktian's next collaboration with Yazri Merah. Yazri composed the song and Zaibaktian co-wrote the lyrics with Rafaat Hamzah. "Ejen Cinta", the MTV was a constant feature on Suria during the period of June-July and proved to be a hit with the Suria viewers, which helped introduce Zaibaktian to a wider TV audience. The TV series followed suit and subsequently the single was aired as RIA 89.7FM Trax Terbaru in July 2009. The song achieved its highest position at No. 2 on RIA Charts and stayed there for 15 weeks.

2009 was also the year Zaibaktian made his debut on televison. His debut came in May 2009 when he was featured on "JUS', an info-tainment programmed on SURIA, and performed on TV for the very first time. Subsequently, he was featured again in December 2009 in all-Singapore artistes concert programme called "Viva Muzik Singapura".

Festival Melayu Ada aka FMA, a street gig showcasing homegrown independent Malay artistes was first held at Hajjah Esah Cafe (Bussorah Street) in March 2009. A brainchild of Zaibaktian, Rafaat Hamzah and Rafiz Hapipi, one of its primary objective was to promote Malay music, poetry and arts, and its practitioners. The event had been very successful in creating awareness among the Malay community, especially in the areas of music and poetry in its 1st year. A full article writeup on FMA was published in Berita Harian in June by Hanim Md Salleh.

Establishing himself as a dynamic 'live' performer, he was selected to feature in an annual event featuring some of the best Singapore talents - "Rentak Singapura" - organised by Mediacorp Radio's RIA 89.7FM and WARNA 94.2FM. Performing his two hits "Lelaki Baru" & "Ejen Cinta", he was also given the honour to perform in the finale and performing alongside the 2 Singapore Idols, Taufik Batisah & Hady Mirza.

"Dunia Yang Fana" was the 3rd single offering by Zaibaktian. Though he had initially submitted the song to be considered as RIA Trax Terbaru, it did not happen. Nevertheless, the song was included in the month of Ramadhan playlist. It received an encouraging response from the radio listeners and it then made its debut in RIA Charts in October 2009. It rose to its highest position at No. 2 and stayed there for 22 weeks ending March 2010.

So there it is - my highlights in my music career in 2009 - i had far surpassed my own expectations when i first started my music in 2007. But i'm not resting on my laurels just yet. There's still so much to learn and I've made it my daily goal to keep learning a new thing each day. I've made new goals in 2010 for me to work at.

Thank you to everyone who frequently visit my humble blog since 2007 and all who had supported me in my music journey one way or another....i will persevere and keep on improving myself and not disappoint you guys :)

BAIK SKALI!!

Labels: anugerah planet muzik, BAIK SKALI, dunia yg fana, EJEN CINTA, lelaki baru, mediacorp, radio ria 89.7fm, rafaat hamzah, RIA CHARTS, suria tv, yazri merah, zaibaktian

THE MOST WONDERFUL CURE

It's been a wonderful year for my music adventure in 2009 & VMS provided with an opportunity to cap it all off. Me, being a newbie when it comes to TV productions was certainly excited at the prospect of showcasing my music to a wider audience. So after days of preparations, the day had come to let loose.

I left home tat day saying to myself what an eventful da

y this is.......to be frank, i haven't had a good night sleep for the longest period of time....i'm do

ing myvery best to cope with my ever busy schedule....not tat i'm complaining....i'm forever grateful to Him for blessing me with His gifts....anyway, this is wat i have been sacrifiing and working hard for , the past few years.

Booked a cab and off i went towards Dhoby Ghaut Green...the venue where VMS would be held. I was dead tired and hellbent on getting a quick nap. I

was sitting on the left side rear seat and fortunately for me, had the presence of mind to buckl

e myself up and as I was about to find out, that act did a lot to save me from further harm.

Along Portsdown Road a couple of minutes later, the cab I was in was involved in a traffic accident....a pile-up where 3 other vehicles were involved. I was badly shaken from the experience and i thank for God for my safety for it could have been much worse. I did not feel any pains at tat point of time though. So after regaining my composure, I then quicky informed my loved ones of my predicament. Mr Amin later came and picked me up from the site and off we go to VMS.

Whatever it was....it did not stop me from having a blast at VMS !! I could disappoint my friends and supporters who had come all the way to Dhoby Ghaut to see me perform.....though i must say I was in pains during the performance...watching the crowd singing at the top of their voices and swaying their hands from left to right was definitely the most wonderful cure!!

Anyway, thanks once again to my musician brothers who performed brilliantly with me tat day - Amin Salleh, Yan Crossover, Zed Zaini and Amanullah - amazing!!

to Azizah, Chip & Moon for the love

to Azni for that "outrageous" outfit...but i still look good i think...hahaha.....

to my lovely friends and supporters - u noe who u are cos u r the ones singing along to each of my song - for the applauses and screams - for the hand swaying

THANK YOU for making 2009 a beautiful year for me :)

Labels: dunia yang fana, EJEN CINTA, lelaki baru, viva muzik singapura, vms, zaibaktian

AMAZING AUGUST

8th August - Rentak Singapura My very 1st time performing in a very much publicised event organised by radio stations RIA and WARNA and supported by Perkamus. Rentak Singapura was held for the 2nd year running and held at the TRCC Centre, Republic Polytechnic tis time around. I did dream on performing in nights like this when I first started my music adventure. So i did hope to be included in this year's edition. Imagine my excitement when i was contacted by the show's producer, Nity Baizura, if I'm interested to be part of the event. Gosh...of cos i'm interested...couldn't contain my excitement..nak step cool pun tak boleh.....hahaha..... There i was on that historic day personally.....realising that i'll be performing alongside the hottest names in Singapore Malay music industry:- TheSallys, Salma, Nana, Merah, Sleeq, Didicazli, Hady Mirza and Taufik Batisah. Performing to a 1000+ strong crowd, it was surely a night to remember :)

Zoom to my performance - Backed by my musician brothers: Amin & Kheir (guitars), Sam Hardy (bass), Nizamulmuluk (keyboards) and Shahril X-Tech (drums) - I performed 'Lelaki Baru' and 'Ejen Cinta' in a medley, as I was given only 6 mins for my performance due to time constraint. Alhamdulillah....thanks to the guys for helping me arrange. Yup, it would be my most exciting 6 mins on stage......i felt so honoured on stage with the screams and applause from the audience.....the guys with me on stage must have felt the energy too....i gave everything i had on stage tat day!

Something funny happened during my performance...usuallly i would bring a bottle of water with me on stage to help me hydrate in betwwen songs...while performing 'Ejen Cinta'.....i felt my throat running dry......wow, it was a nightmare singing with a dry mouth and throat.....the best part was i couldn't find my water bottle on stage......hahaha..... Alhamdulillah, i did give my all and i did felt that the crowd enjoyed my performance and to me, that's the most important thing!!

The highlight of Rentak Singapura must surely be the finale and i'm sure most ppl who came would agree. Again i must stress that I felt so honoured to be performing alongside Fadly X-Tech, Taufik and Hady......not forgetting the awesome Projek Band :)

I've exhausted all superlatives to describe my experience performing in Rentak Singapura.....once again I would like to thank everyone who made my experience possible.....special thanks too to my family, friends and supporters; my manager, Azizah Zakaria and my stylist, Azni Samdin....Love u all!! Wait....one more superlative..... BAIK SKALI!!!

Labels: EJEN CINTA, lelaki baru, RENTAK SINGAPURA, zaibaktian

Festival Melayu Ada: Zaibaktian & Friends - The Story

It's almost impossible for me to describe the series of emotions running through me, as I witnessed the unfolding of events in the aftermath of the event titled 'Festival Melayu Ada'. New bonds are forged. Friendships are made. Hopes are renewed. Spirits soared. That sums up FESTIVAL MELAYU ADA: ZAIBAKTIAN & FRIENDS held on the 1st of March 2009 at Hajjah Esah Cafe located at Bussorah Street. Kudos to all performers of the 1st instalment of Festival Melayu Ada: Zaibaktian & Friends - TENGKU NURLELA . HIRMAN . DIANA . YUNOS ERKSAN . ARD . TENGKU ADIL . ROWELL SAKTI . RAVEN . FYNO - Wonderful performances by all and I believe by coming together in this humble showcase, it speaks volumes of their dedication and undying spirit to create an almost unheard before S'pore's own Malay independent music industry. It should have been long time coming but I guess, better late than never. I believe this event will kickstart a long and slow process of a Malay music industry that we can call our own but i'll be praying hard that it'll be a sure thing in years to come :) A gazillion thanks and my deepest appreciation to the wonderful audience of FMA: Zaibaktian & Friends. The soaring sun apparently did not extinguish your thirst for local music and the rain for sure did not dampen your spirit!! Small in numbers but with your relentless support and strong voice, it sure felt like the performers playing in a crowd of a thousand ppl. I did feel like that personally. Thank you for making the choice to be there!! Thank you to Rafiz, Rafaat and Azizah for always giving their very best to support this humble idea that is 'Festival Melayu Ada'. For the positivity, encouragement, support and drive...thank you! To those who did not have the opportunity to be there....i leave with ur some enduring vids...hope you enjoyed them! :)

Labels: festival melayu ada, lelaki baru, zaibaktian

Lelaki Baru - The Music Video

I have been procrastinating on the idea of an MTV for 'Lelaki Baru' for a long while now. With the help Aiz and Zul, we did try to put together a proper MTV at the end of 2008 but due to some technicalities, i will have to postpone that MTV to a later date Insya'allah :) Yazri, the songwriter of 'LB' (Lelaki Baru) had mooted the idea of a youtube mtv ever since the song's been released and now it has come to fruition. Hehe... After an impromptu jam session at Fourtones, we sat down and set a day for the shooting of the music video. The day came....put all the amps and stuff into the back of Amin's Suzuki APV....and off we go. Other than Amin on guitars, the cast would be Izam on bass and Amer on drums and Yazri is the Tuan Director. Fetched them all and off we went to Marina then Mt Faber to shoot all the necessary scenes. Since Yazri was working later at night, we had to rush. Enduring the sun...the rain...the sun again, we managed to had it all wrapped up in 2 hrs. So after 2 days of editing, Yazri had finally posted this video on Facebook and Youtube. Everyone involved were delighted for the final outcome!! So once again thanks so much to Yazri, Amin, Amer and Izam for a job well done!! Kudos to you bros!!

Labels: lelaki baru, zaibaktian

November Rain

Salam to all! Been receiving smses and emails asking and urging me to blog frequently. For those concerned, thank you very much and I will do my very best to update you on wat's going around me at present. So let me start by recapping the month of November. Before I start, my greatest appreciation and deepest thanks to my families, friends, fans, musicians, Ria 897FM, Warna 942FM, Berita Harian, Sensasi and everyone involved directly and indirectly in my music adventure!

LELAKI BARU

'Lelaki Baru' finally reached the summit of Ria Chartz and stayed at No 1 for 2 consecutive weeks. It is no longer the top dog but nevertheless still in the top 5 on 30 Nov 2008. It still feels like a dream come true...more of this here Thank you very much to everyone who requested 'Lelaki Baru'....the RIA 897FM DJs for promoting and playing the song... Someone told me yesterday 'Lelaki Baru' is now playing on Warna 942FM....thanks, that's wonderful news!

PERFORMANCES

Performed at 2 events. First was at Japanese Association for an event called 'COMPASS Musical Extravaganza' , which was jointly organised by both the Japanese Association & COMPASS. It was fun and enriching experience to be mingling with fellow musicians, songwriters from Singapore & Japan. Second was a fundraising campaign ' Kami Peduli' which was held at Singapore Expo. Jointly organised by MegaXpress and Life Records, it featured a myriad of Singaporean artistes of various genres across various eras. It was to create a fund to assist a number of veteran artistes who are presently struggling with illnesses. Sang 'Lelaki Baru' for the 1st time 'live' and it felt good to finally performed it at last. The video is here

PRESS

Humbled to be given opportunities to be featured in 2 articles....in Berita Harian and Sensasi respectively. Thanks to Zaharian Osman for writing a piece about me, the song 'Lelaki Baru' and the story behind it. More of it here Thanks to Junaidah Jumahat of Sensasi for the opportunity to be featured in Sensasi magazine. It's already out in newstands December edition featuring Taufik Batisah on its cover. I will blog about tis in my next post. Cheers!!

Labels: berita harian, compass, fans, lelaki baru, life records, melayu, ria 89.7fm, sensasi, taufik batisah, warna 94.2 fm, zaharian osman, zaibaktian

Beyond My Wildest Dream

It would be the biggest lie if I said that I'd never dreamt of this moment. Looking back at the blueprint of my music plans, written some place away in an old organiser, where I first wrote down my 5 year plans and dreams at the end of 2006. Yup, I wrote down... 'to have a hit single'. What I meant then was to have at the very least, a hit song to my name hopefully in 5 years time. It did seem kind of impossible to achieve when I was starting out then. But a close friend who insisted on me writing down my plans, urged me to write what I think I want to achieve...not what I feel I can achieve. So to finally land the No 1 spot on Ria 89.7FM Charts on Sunday 9th of November after 7 weeks on the charts was definitely a dream come true for me! Alhamdulillah, I felt so blessed by Allah. Thank you very much....my dear family, friends and fans who had supported my music journey and everyone that had submitted numerous requests and smses for 'Lelaki Baru'. Thank you to the very talented composer of the song, Yazri (Merah)! Thank you to the people involved in the production - Yazri, Amer & Ewan of Merah and Ah Boy of TNT Studios! Special thanks to all Ria 897FM's DJs for airing 'Lelaki Baru'! Thanks everyone....thank you so much!!! I won't shed tears of joy yet...for now I will just work harder to produce better music and inspire others around me. Maybe when my music adventure is over, i might shed a tear or two....

Labels: lelaki baru, ria 89.7fm, zaibaktian

Zaibaktian serasi dengan 'Lelaki Baru'

Special thanks to Zaharian Osman & Berita Harian for publishing this article! Thanks also to ppl @ Fatimah Mohsen for setting me up for a modest photoshoot! Thanks also to semua yg msg and call me pagi2 lagi inform me pasal tis article! Zaibaktian serasi dengan 'Lelaki Baru'

By Zaharian Osman

USAHANYA hendak bertapak dalam bidang seni bukan baru dilakukan - berbulan-bulan lamanya, malah memakan tahun.

Kini, selepas setahun bekerja keras mengetengahkan lagu-lagu daripada album pertamanya, Keagungan Mu, penyanyi tempatan, Zaibaktian Abu Bakar, 32 tahun, pula melihat hasilnya.

Single Lelaki Baru yang ke udara sejak dua bulan lalu itu kian diminati.

Ternyata, gabungan antara beliau dengan Yazri, anggota band Merah, mahu melahirkan lagu ini amat serasi dan menjadi.

Lebih membanggakan, hanya setelah empat minggu ia berjaya mencapai kedudukan naib juara di Ria Chartz baru-baru ini.

Muzik dan susunan lagu genre rok ini menceritakan perihal seorang bekas banduan yang ingin mengubah haluan hidup sehingga kembali semula ke pangkuan mereka yang disayangi.

Lagu yang kuat perutusan itu sejajar dengan Projek Reben Kuning (YRP) yang memberi peluang kepada bekas pesalah agar diterima kembali ke pangkuan masyarakat.

Yazri berkata: 'Lagu itu saya cipta khas untuk Zai kerana saya lihat semangat yang membara untuk bangkit dan membaiki diri menerusi seni muzik.

'Ini meyakinkan dengan kesungguhan Zai muncul semula dengan irama yang lebih segar.'

Perasaan gembira menyelinap masuk pada diri Zaibaktian kerana terharu dengan sambutan yang diterima pada lagu ini.

Ini sebagai pengenalan untuk album repackage yang sedang dalam pembikinan ketika ini.

Ditemui di sesi fotografi, Zai berkata: 'Saya ingin mengenalkan bakat dan identiti saya sebagai penyanyi dan penggubah lagu.'

Apabila diamati seni kata lagu ini, penulis dapati ia kaya dengan penceritaan yang kurang didapati di kebanyakan lagu kebelakangan ini.

Nilai positif serta kesungguhan yang diterapkan begitu tulus pada cara penyampaian dan penghayatan Zai pada lagu ini.

Kesan mendengar begitu menyentuh dan menyuntik semangat yang memberangsangkan.

Esok, bertempat di Auditorium Persatuan Jepun Singapura (JAS), Adam Road, sempena acara Musical Extravaganza anjuran Persatuan Pelindung Hak Cipta dan Penggubah Lagu Singapura (Compass), Zai akan membuat persembahan.

Mereka yang ingin mengenali genre muzik perjuangan Zaibaktian boleh layari http://zaibaktian.blogspot.com.

Labels: fatimah mohsen, lelaki baru, merahband, ria 89.7fm, yazri, zaharian osman, zaibaktian

My Interview @ Ria 89.7FM

Kalau nak ikutkan badan memang terasa letih. Dah berhari2 aku kerja...alahai, penat badan aku. Namun biler dapat call from DJ Nity Baizura inviting me to feature in her program 'Personality Zoom'.....rasa excited. Bedek ke tak excited....bukan selalu dapat interview on national radio...'live' pulak tuh!

Reached Bt Caldecott around 8.4opm and made my way to Ria conty. Along the way terserempak lah jugak dengan DJ2 Aura Shai & Fiza O. After introducing myself to them, made a move to Ria studio where Nity was awaiting.

Strike 9pm and the show started. Mula2 nervous jugak biler berbual apa lagi dengan microphone yg besar di depan aku. As the show moved along, I quickly warmed up and got comfortable sikit....until the last segment where Nity 'challenged' me to sing my song 'Lelaki Baru' while playing the guitar. Haha...peh karatnya aku bermain gitar sampai tersangkut2.....but overall oklah jugak.

Great experience..one that I will remember fondly!

Labels: lelaki baru, nity baizura, ria, zaibaktian